I blogged earlier about a Microsoft comparison tool, the Change Analysis Diagnostic for Windows XP. The idea there was to go back to a specified date and look at what had changed on the system to help troubleshoot any potential issues occurring as the result of installed software. You can read about it here.
The Windows System State Analyzer works with later versions of Windows but is different in that you take a snapshot of the pre-install environment, install the application and then take a post-install snapshot of the same system. When complete, you can then run a comparison of the two files from within the System State Analyzer to see what has changed.
To obtain the tool, go to http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=140110 (x86) or http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=140109 (x64). Read the rest of this entry »
Windows Explored 